{Tea-Stained} Coffee Filter Wreath

Here’s what you’ll need to make your own tea-stained coffee filter wreath:

Black Tea Bags
Large Pot
Water
Coffee Filters {I used something like 90…but if you want a fuller wreath, use some more}
Straight Pins
Scotch Tape
Ribbon

Fill a large pot with water and add approximately 5 black tea bags. Let the water come to a boil, then reduce to {very} low heat.

I steeped approximately 25 filters at a time, but adjust this number according to the size of your pot. You just want to make sure that the filters are covered in water. For the first batch, I left the tea bags in the water. As you’ll notice later in the tutorial, some of my filters ended up with some really dark staining; I think it’s the ones from this batch. I like how they turned out, but it’s up to you if you want this look or not.

The first batch of coffee filters I left in for about 30 minutes, the second for 20, and the third set for 10 minutes. I was going for some variety in the colors of the filters, though I didn’t notice much of a difference.

Let your coffee filters dry overnight. I’ve heard of people using pant hangers to dry the filters, but we don’t have any of those. I just laid out a few paper towels and stacked the wet filters on top. As soon as the top filters felt dry I removed them from the stack. This seemed to allow the filters at the bottom to dry faster.

When all the coffee filters were dry, I gathered up my materials and started assembling the wreath. To start, I twisted the filters at their center {sort of like making Coffee Filter Flowers}. After some trial and error, I found that twisting them tightly like the picture above actually made it more difficult to get the pins through. It’s much easier to twist the upper portion tightly and leave the end flat.

The straight pins weren’t holding the filters as well as I had originally hoped, so I decided to also tape them down for more stability. This seems to be holding up very well, and it’s still removable so I can re-use the foam core later.

I left an open space at the top of the wreath to attach the ribbon. But, as soon as I hung the wreath up, I knew the empty space had to go, so I added a few extra filters over top of the ribbon. Once the wreath was hung in place, I looked it over from every angle and filled in all the empty spaces.

The depth that the crumpled, ruffled filters brings makes me giddy. I wish more of the edges would have gotten really browned, because I’m loving that look. I think it would be possible to slightly burn the edges to get that same look {though don’t take my word for it – I haven’t tried it myself}!

The simplicity and ease of this wreath is part of what I think makes it so beautiful. It is one that you could leave up year-round, but brings an earthy, rustic quality to any room. {And no one will guess it was made from coffee filters!}

Thank you so much for linking to Homa Style’s No Orange Autumn Display Link Party. Your wreath is incredible and I was excited to show it to my readers. Plus I wanted to know how you made it! Saw one on Pinterest but couldn’t find the instructions! Homa Style will be hosting a Simple Holiday Handmade Gift Idea Link Party {Please no sale items} on Oct 31. Hope to see you there. Thanks again!

Hey – thanks for this great tutorial! I’m sure I’ve seen variations of this wreath on Pinterest and elsewhere, but when I saw yours, I knew I had to try it! If you’re interested, I posted some photos of mine on my facebook webpage:https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.270756503027433.45062.100457466724005&type=1
And I LOOOOOVED the result! I know you mentioned the idea of burning the edges for a different look – I tried something a little different – inking the edges using a stamp pad. I’m pretty happy with the way it turned out. All in all, it made a great fall housewarming gift for my friend last week. Just wanted to say thanks!

This is so pretty!! I love how the edges on some are darker, it really gives it dimension. I also LOOOVE that it’s such a cheap wreath to make! Yay for cheap. :) Visiting from The Makers! Would also love for you to link up at Motivational Mondays! It ends on Fridays. :) http://www.dwellinginhappiness.com/motivational-monday/

This is absolutely lovely! An a very affordable DIY too :D I wanted to let you know that this post is being featured tonight at the Create & Share Link Party (7:00 PM MST)! Congratulations!!! Can’t wait to see what you share with us this week :)http://designsbymissmandee.blogspot.com/